Compact discs, audio and video tapes are usually put up for sale in a plastic case or the like, which carries information about the disc or tape as well as carrying sales promotional material or artwork to attract a purchaser. The case is often displayed at the point of sale in an open access rack or other display so that a would-be purchaser can browse through the display and select the discs or tapes he wishes to purchase. However, in order to reduce the risk of theft from such an open access display, the actual disc or tape is not held within the displayed case, but is stored separately. Therefore, when the disc or tape is purchased, the sales person has to identify the disc or tape from the empty case, to locate the disc or tape in the store and to marry the disc or tape up with the empty case. This is time consuming and may also require that the sales person leaves the sales counter un-manned whilst locating the disc or tape in the store.
In order to reduce these problems, it has been proposed to fit the case into a display container fitted with a lock mechanism which secures the case for the disc or tape within the container so that a thief cannot readily gain access to the disc or tape without breaking the container or removing the container from the shop. The container can be fitted with alarm means so that it cannot be removed from the display or shop without actuating an audible or visual alarm. Typically, the container is locked by means of a spring loaded pin which engages a recess or the like in a wall of the case. The pin is retracted by applying a strong magnet to the pin mounting, for example at the sales counter, so as to release the case from the container. However, such mechanisms are either bulky and obtrusive, or can be accessed externally so that the security of the container is compromised. Furthermore, the pin must register with a recess in the wall of the case and this limits the range of cases which can be used within a given container, notably where the design of the case is altered by the manufacturer. The pin must also be retracted when the case is loaded into the display container, which again is time consuming.
We have now devised a form of lock mechanism for a box or other container, notably for use with an article which is to be on open access display and thus susceptible to theft, which reduces the above problems.